2003 Staten Island Ferry Crash - Aftermath

Aftermath

Mayor Michael Bloomberg promptly announced that the crash was an accident, allaying fears of a public still stunned by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which killed a large number of Staten Island residents. A co-worker claimed to have seen the pilot asleep on duty, slumped over the controls. Two witnesses said the boat seemed to speed up just before the crash.

The ferry's pilot, Richard Smith, attempted suicide by slitting his left wrist while still on the boat. He then slipped away so suddenly that he left his house keys. He was found shortly afterwards at home, having apparently broken in. Smith had again tried to kill himself, this time by shooting himself twice in the chest with a pellet gun, but survived this second suicide attempt.

It was later determined that Smith had lost consciousness while at the ship's controls. He had taken the painkillers Tramadol and Tylenol PM, both of which can cause drowsiness as a side effect. The city rules required two pilots to be present during docking, but this rule had not been enforced by the management of the ferry service, and Smith had been alone in the pilot house. On August 4, 2004, Smith pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison on January 10, 2006. New York's former city ferry director, Patrick Ryan, who had also pleaded guilty to manslaughter, was sentenced to a year and a day on similar charges.

The accident resulted in scores of lawsuits against the city. As of September 2008, the city had paid $54.3 million to the victims and their families, with other lawsuits pending.

The crash was at first said by New York City to be an Act of God, with attorneys arguing that the Department of Transportation should not be held responsible for the crash, an argument that disturbed many survivors and New York City residents. City attorneys, citing a 19th-century maritime law, would later argue that the total amount of damages sought against the city should not exceed the cost of the ferryboat. On February 26, 2007, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman rejected this argument and held that the city could not cap damages, writing, "The city's failure to provide a second pilot or otherwise adopt a reasonable practice that addresses the issue of pilot incapacitation was plainly a substantial factor in causing the disaster."

Despite these rulings and a similar, independent federal probation report by officer Tony Garoppolo into the culpability of the ferry service's upper management in which he ruled "the lion's share of culpability in this case as resting with the high level management of the Ferry Service", no other employees of the New York City Department of Transportation were prosecuted.

On May 8, 2010, the same boat was involved in another crash. As the ferry approached the St. George terminal, the throttle failed to engage as it prepared to dock and crashed into the dock. The impact caused 37 injuries, one of which was serious.